About 2,500 the number of young participants from 30 countries. Welcomed at the entrance of the Don Bosco Technical Institute by a folk dance group, the young pilgrims spent the afternoon animating each other and sharing experiences and considerations together.
"The Holy Father reminds us to believe in young people as a force of the Church, of the world and of the family," said Sister Esther Migueline Jimenez, of the FMA of the Dominican Republic. "Living in a country that has a minority of Catholics, WYD gives me the opportunity to grow in my faith," added Maria Linda, a Christian in Kuwait, at her third WYD.
Thus, united by the same faith and the same love for Don Bosco, and without linguistic differences ever constituting an obstacle, amid selfies, hugs, exchange of gifts, songs and applause everywhere, the young spent the first few hours.
The arrival of the Rector Major and Mother Reungoat further increased the warmth of the environment.
After dinner, the most important moment of the day came: the vigil of Eucharistic adoration. A well organized and very reflective ceremony, with songs and moments of silence that invited everyone to intimate prayer with Jesus, and in which there were no lack of specific prayers for the young people of Venezuela and Nicaragua.
At the end of this moment, Mother Reungoat and Fr Á.F. Artime offered the traditional "good night."
"Replace fear with trust; it is there, the source of peace and the courageous response to Jesus," said Mother Reungoat.
And the X Successor of Don Bosco added: "God touches the heart of each one of us. As Pope Benedict XVI said: 'Dear young people, do not be afraid of what God asks each one of you.' Because this is the matter: to live life with much passion, without being afraid of what God asks of each of us."
